A social-networking system, which may include a social-networking website, may enable its users (such as persons or organizations) to interact with it and with each other by way of interactions conducted using data and/or functionality provided by the social-networking system. The social-networking system may create and store in the social-networking system a user profile associated with the user. The user profile may include demographic information, communication-channel information, and information regarding personal interests of the user. The social-networking system may also create and store a record of relationships of the user with other users of the social-networking system. The social-networking system may also provide functionality (e.g., wall posts, photo-sharing, event organization, messaging, games, or advertisements) to facilitate social interaction between or among users.
In particular embodiments, such different types of data may be stored in a plurality of data stores, wherein access to each data store is provided by way of a service providing a query interface (e.g., to HTTP-based requests complying with a schema specification published by the service). In particular embodiments, the architecture of the social-networking system may include a heterogeneous set of services, each having a different schema.